


Dragonflies and Liquor

by Katalyna_Rose



Series: Elissa Cousland and Solona Amell [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, King Alistair, Orlesians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katalyna_Rose/pseuds/Katalyna_Rose
Summary: "hello! maybe these are some things you can work into a prompt: jewelry shaped like insects, a liquor of an unusual color and taste, thickening mud, a bird call. For the pairing of your choice!" prompt from @houseghastlymenhaunted on tumblr!Thank you for the prompt! I couldn’t think of a damn thing for the mud, but I tried to incorporate bird calls as a way for Alistair and Elissa to mess with the Orlesians and it just wasn’t working. So we ended up with only the jewelry and the liquor. I tried!





	Dragonflies and Liquor

**Author's Note:**

> Image commissioned from @shayasanya on tumblr

“A gift for you, my queen,” Alistair said as he approached Elissa. She smiled at his reflection in greeting, then raised a brow curiously.

“I thought we talked about buying my favor,” she admonished fondly as she adjusted a pin in her hair.

Alistair chuckled. “I’m going to hate today’s meetings and especially tonight’s banquet. I’m going to be expected to-” he shuddered, exaggerating the movement, “-mingle! Do you know, Eamon wants me to dance with the Viscomtess of Monstimard? The horror! All those buckles must make her shoes weigh a hundred pounds! Bid my feet goodbye, my love!”

Elissa laughed, turning away from her vanity to face him. “And what exactly does this ridiculousness have to do with a gift I’ve yet to see?” she asked him, grinning. He gave her a boyish smile and swirled a finger towards the ground, asking her to turn back around. She shook her head at him but complied, facing her mirror again.

She watched his reflection as he pulled a flat, square box out from behind his back and opened it. “The point, El, is that today will be terrible for me but if you’re wearing my gift I think I might just get through it,” he told her, his tone tender, all joking put aside. The necklace he draped around her neck made her gasp, a thin silver chain that sparkled in the morning light that filtered through the window holding up the most delicately-wrought dragonfly she had ever seen. It’s body was made of jewels set in silver and its wings… She wasn’t entirely sure but it looked like tiny panes of the thinnest crystal had been set in silver for its wings.

“Alistair, it’s amazing… I’ve never seen anything like it!” She met his eyes in the mirror again as he clasped it for her. “Where did you get it?”

A pleased smile spread across his face as he helped her to her feet and kissed her powdered cheek. “There’s an elven jeweler in town who specializes in the most delicate-looking jewelry you’ve ever seen. I found his shop when I was inspecting the new water ducts and I had to get you something. If you like it, maybe I’ll surprise you with his wares more often.” His eyes crinkled with is smile and she kissed the little wrinkles, her arms around his shoulders.

“I think I would love that,” she admitted. She turned back to her mirror and touched the necklace gently, admiring the way it reflected the light. “It’s so beautiful…”

Alistair watched her with a blissful smile for a moment before suddenly jumping and reaching into his pocket. “Oh! I almost forgot. Here, it was a set, but I asked the jeweler to make the chain on this smaller. For Nehna.” He handed her a long, thin box and she opened it curiously to find a perfectly child-sized version of the pendant she wore but on a bracelet. She put a hand over her heart and kissed him in thanks.

“She’ll love it,” she promised him. “Now go confer with Eamon before we have to be at the meeting. I’ll join you after I give this to Nehna and ask her to wear it for the banquet tonight.”

 

That night, as promised, Elissa sat with Alistair at the head of the banquet table with the dragonfly necklace proudly on display. Beside her sat her adopted daughter, who was only not Alistair’s adopted daughter as well for reasons of state that he didn’t personally agree with, and her dragonfly was also proudly shown. She used her left arm carefully, as dexterous as a five year old could possibly be with a delicate thing.

“She squealed over it,” Elissa whispered into Alistair’s ear as he watched Nehna carefully spread her napkin in her lap and take a sip of her water. “She gave me a huge hug when I showed it to her. I told her it was from you and she tried to run off to find you and give you a hug, too. Expect to be showered in kisses at story time tonight.”

Alistair grinned and kissed Elissa’s hand. “As long as she likes, I’m satisfied,” he told her. She smiled back at him, then turned to Nehna to tuck a few stray strands of golden hair behind her pointed ear and whisper a reminder about which fork was which and to wait until after the toast was given to start eating. Sometimes Alistair worried that the girl didn’t get to be a child enough, caught as she was between princess and peasant, but Elissa assured him that she was happy and her elven tutors taught her about her roots even as her human tutors taught her dancing and manners. She had plenty of trips into the city to play with other children as well as time spent with the children of the nobles in the palace. And she seemed happy and she would never go hungry, so maybe that was enough. That was what her mother had wanted for her before she died, in any case.

Elissa sighed as she sat back in her chair, gazing at the child with love in her eyes. “She looks more like Iona every day…” she murmured. He tightened his hand on hers and she squeezed back.

The Comte of Montsimard stood from the table and gestured, and servants began passing out tiny crystal glasses of the brightest purple liquid Alistair had ever seen in his life. He took his cup and sniffed it, detecting fruits and a hint of licorice under the scent of alcohol.

“A great many thanks to our hosts,” the comte began, holding his own cup as he bowed to the Fereldan monarchs, who nodded politely in return. He then held up his cup and delivered a ridiculously long toast to Ferelden-Orlesian peace and trade, the wealth of both countries’ respective rulers, economic development in general, and probably other things Alistair didn’t hear because he’d zoned out less than halfway through. He preferred to watch Nehna play with her new bracelet, touching the dragonfly’s wings as gently as she could and turning it this way and that under the candlelight. But finally, the toast ended, and he only knew about it because Elissa, who knew him too well, squeezed his hand as the rambling came to an end.

Alistair raised his glass to the comte and declared, “Here, here.” He had no idea what they were toasting but it didn’t particularly matter because it was just protocol and etiquette that didn’t have any real meaning. Everyone else lifted their drinks, including Nehna, who had for whatever reason ended up with a glass of the strange liquor.

“Ah-ah,” Elissa told her, putting her hand over the mouth of the crystal glass and putting it out of the girl’s reach. She was pouted at as everyone took a sip. It was odd, for sure, but it wasn’t bad. Elissa put a cup of grape juice in Nehna’s hand instead, hoping to appease her. “It’s liquor, my dove. You don’t want it.” That seemed to work because Nehna made a face and happily took a drink of her juice.

The banquet progressed swiftly after that and Alistair’s head got fuzzier as the night wore on. He didn’t realize he was genuinely drunk until he found himself staring at the way Nehna’s elven eyes reflected the candlelight for far longer than was polite, ignoring the question of whatever Orlesian noble happened to be at his elbow. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

The viscomte ruffled her feathers, but repeated herself, “I said, what do you think of our wine? It is a special vintage made only in Montsimard.”

“Oh,” he replied, quite eloquently. He looked at his tiny crystal glass and found it was full again. How had that happened? “It is quite good. Stronger than I might expect, but tasty.” He was having difficulty getting his tongue to cooperate, it was time for an emergency stop. He couldn’t believe he’d let himself get drunk and he signaled to Eamon that it was time to wrap it up.

Fortunately, that went swiftly, and Nehna’s fatigue made a good excuse for the royal family to bow out almost at once. Elissa carried to exhausted child, Alistair’s arm around her waist. When they got to their rooms, Nehna was already asleep and Elissa vanished to her room to get her undressed and in bed.

By the time she returned, Alistair was in his underwear sitting on the bed. He smiled at her as she sat at her vanity to take down her hair and remove her jewelry and makeup. She carefully put her new necklace in a place of honor and his smile widened. “Do you really like it?” he asked her. She smiled a him in the mirror.

“I really do,” she confirmed again. “So does Nehna. She loved that we matched. Was there a pin like this?” She touched the dragonfly as she asked the question. “You should match us, too. A pin on your coat would be perfect.”

His eyes brightened. “You’re right, it would,” he murmured, slurring a little. “I’ll ask the jeweler if he has one, or would make one for me.”

Elissa’s gaze sharpened on his reflection as she started peeling herself out of her dress. “You’re drunk.” He sighed.

“What was that drink? The viscomtess claimed it was wine, but it hit me like rum…” He put a hand on his head and groaned despairingly. “Am I really such a lightweight?”

Elissa chuckled and returned to him wearing only her silk nightie. His hands settled on her hips on their own as she stood before him, mahogany hair spilling around wide shoulders and grey eyes piercing through the fog of drink. She smiled as she told him, “You’re not a lightweight and I’m fairly sure that drink doesn’t qualify as a wine. You kept sipping, they kept refilling your cup when you were looking elsewhere. I’m not sure if it was courtesy or if they wanted you to be drunk and slip up. Regardless, you did remarkably well.”

“Ah, praise from you is the sweetest ambrosia, my queen,” he told her, pleasure thudding in time with the sluggish beat of his heart. He kissed her belly, the closest part of her to his lips, and she giggled while she combed his hair with her fingers.

“And you are the silliest king who ever lived,” she replied, but it was fond. She pulled away, despite his pitiful whine, and climbed into bed. “It’s time to sleep, you drunkard. Come here and hold me.”

He crawled to her with a wolf-like grin that only made amusement burn brighter in her eyes. “And what if I want to do more than hold you?” he asked, only tripping over the words a little.

“Alistair,” she admonished, but a smile was on her lips. “You are drunk, you will fall asleep in the middle of it. Just come to bed, you silly man.” He sighed, but he knew she was right, so he curled himself around her body as she blew out the last candle beside their bed.


End file.
